Skip to main content

Brazilian bridge to the beach

The State of Pernambuco in north-eastern Brazil has some of the country's most beautiful beaches, and on the peninsula of Cabo de Santo Agostinho a luxury resort has sprung up with apartments (condominios) and hotels for international tourists. To give the resort a convenient, fast link to the coastal highway, the Via Parque consortium is building a bridge over the Jaboatão River, which separates the peninsula from the mainland.
March 1, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
An impression of how the bridge will look
The State of Pernambuco in north-eastern Brazil has some of the country's most beautiful beaches, and on the peninsula of Cabo de Santo Agostinho a luxury resort has sprung up with apartments (condominios) and hotels for international tourists.

To give the resort a convenient, fast link to the coastal highway, the Via Parque consortium is building a bridge over the Jaboatão River, which separates the peninsula from the mainland.

The 320m long Ponte do Paiva across the river has a clear span of 290m, and is part of a new road system that will cut the journey from the airport to the peninsula from 48km to 14km. It will have two traffic lanes and a pedestrian and cycle lane.

The reinforced concrete box girder is being constructed using the cantilever method, working outward from the two pier heads and back-stayed in every casting section. Via Parque opted for 203 Doka Brasil to supply the formwork, and it planned and supplied a custom formwork solution that was optimally tailored to the specific requirements.

The four cantilevered forming carriages were fitted with a total of 1,000m² of large-area formwork Top 50. The formwork solution called for particular flexibility in the seventh casting section, which at 5m in length is twice as long as a typical section. Using stacking plates and 1.8m long formwork beams, it was possible to lengthen the formwork to the desired dimensions swiftly and safely.

A Doka field service technician coordinated the job of erecting the formwork solution correctly, and was on hand to assist the site team with advice and practical help throughout the start-up phase.

Although the crane had not been erected, forming operations on the foundations of the pier heads had to be started, and Doka Brasil supplied the site with the lightweight, rugged framed formwork Frami. Its low weight means that it can be shifted by hand.

"Even without crane assistance, some very good forming times were achieved with it on the site. Thanks to the logically coordinated panel formats, the crew was able to form the foundations with a minimum of prior planning," said Doka.

The site crew also used Frami on the pier-head itself.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Metso’s portable plants proving a hit for Asian and African road works
    January 24, 2014
    Metso's Indian-manufactured Nordwheeler portable crushing and screening plants are said to be playing an important role in a number of road and other construction infrastructure projects in Asia and Africa. During a short period of time, Metso has sold over 30 portable Nordwheeler plants to Asian and African-based aggregates producers. The plants are manufactured in Metso's factory in Bawal, India – earlier this year reaching the milestone of 1,000 Indian-manufactured portable plants.
  • MOBA founder Paul Harms will be “sorely missed” after death aged 82
    March 4, 2013
    Paul G. Harms, founder and long-time managing director of MOBA, has died aged 82. For more than 30 years Harms led and shaped the German firm, from its foundation in 1972 to its current position among leading international companies in mobile automation. Born in 1931 in Osnabrück, Germany, on leaving school Harms completed an apprenticeship as an instrument mechanic then worked as thermal technician for Georgsmarienhütte AG. At the same time, Harms attended technical evening school and then studied mechanic
  • SDLG wheeled loaders for Moscow’s new roads and buildings
    March 28, 2014
    Two factories in Russia’s greater Moscow region are using SDLG wheeled loaders to help distribute sand and gravel for use in new roads being built across the region With Russia one of the world’s fastest growing market economies, its need for infrastructure expansion has meant more roads and, as a result, a massive increased need for sand and gravel production. Two sand and gravel factories near Moscow are said to be helping produce the new roads, sidewalks, and also, buildings.
  • Geosynthetics give extra strength to soil reinforcement
    March 14, 2012
    Using geosynthetics for soil reinforcement is highly effective but requires a high quality and trusted geogrid. When it comes to deciding which geogrid is best for a specific project, a number of product parameters must be taken into account. In the design of steep slopes, the most important parameter is the available long term design strength (Pdes). Recently, Colbond has significantly increased this factor for its high performance Enkagrid product, recognised with a newly updated BBA (British Board of Ag